“Faith,” said McGowan, sizing up the scout and his pards in the faint light, “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“I told you,” laughed the scout, “that you would probably hear from us when you least expected to.”
“You were right in that, Buffalo Bill. But why don’t you and your pards come down to the camp? I can make you comfortable there, and——”
“It won’t do,” interrupted the scout. “We don’t want any of your men to know that we’re anywhere near the camp.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the bullion thieves are planning to get away with your clean-up to-morrow, and we can back-cap them to better advantage if they don’t know we’re anywhere around.”
“What!” gasped McGowan. “You must be mistaken, Buffalo Bill.”
“You’re going to have a mill clean-up to-morrow, aren’t you, McGowan?”
“Yes. As soon as the night-shift knocks off work in the mill we’ll hang up the stamps and the day-shift will begin the clean-up.”
“How long will it take?”